GIFT 


A  NOVEL  EXPERIMENl 


A  NOVEL  EXPERIMENT 


The  Newton  Vocational  School 
Print  Shop,  Newton vi lie.  Mass. 


O  / 


FOREWORD 

EVERY  boy  and  girl  of  high  school  age  belongs  in 
the  high  school  regardless  of  the  completion  of  the 
grammar  school  course.  It  is  the  function  of  the  high 
school  to  welcome  every  such  boy  and  girl  and  to 
adapt  subject-matter,  methods  and  organization  to  the 
needs  of  such  boys  and  girls.  The  only  conditions  of 
admission  to  the  high  school  and  of  retention  therein 
to  be  imposed  upon  the  young  person  of  high  school 
age  are  that  such  young  person  be  educable  and  that 
he  try  according  to  his  ability. 

Such  is  a  summary  statement  of  the  policy  that  has 
been  carried  out  in  the  Newton  school  system  during 
the  last  three  years.  In  pursuance  of  this  somewhat 
radical  policy,  within  this  period  of  three  years  more 
than  two  hundred  boys  and  girls  have  been  taken 
bodily,  so  to  speak,  from  the  Newton  grammar  schools 
and  placed  in  the  Newton  Technical  High.  High 
school  age"  varies  somewhat  with  individuals.  With 
rare  exceptions  fifteen  is  considered  the  maximum  age 
up  to  which  a  pupil  should  be  retained  in  grammar 

[Hi] 


261348 


school,  and  many  pupils  who  have  not  completed 
grammar  school  work  are  transferred  to  high  school 
several  months  before  the  fifteenth  birthday  is  reached, 
in  some  instances  at  barely  fourteen  years  of  age. 
One  result  of  this  policy  is  that  the  distinctly  over-age 
pupil  is  practically  unknown  in  the  higher  grades  of 
the  Newton  elementary  schools. 

What  this  policy  is  doing  for  the  young  people  di- 
rectly affected  by  it,  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  little  pam- 
phlet to  show.  At  my  request,  Miss  Mary  A.  Laselle, 
who,  from  the  beginning  of  this  policy  has  been  held 
responsible  for  the  success  of  the  "transferred"  girls 
during  their  first  year  in  high  school  and  has  given  these 
girls  all  their  instruction  in  academic  subjects,  has 
written  the  following  description  of  the  transfer" 
work  and  of  the  subsequent  success  to  date  of  the  first 
class  of  girls  to  be  admitted  to  the  high  school  under 
this  policy.  As  Miss  Laselle  shows  (pp.  10-12)  not 
only  did  nine-tenths  of  the  fifty  girls  admitted  remain 
throughout  the  year,  but  more  than  two-thirds  of  those 
who  remained  through  continued  their  schooling  the 
following  year,  twenty-seven  of  them  in  regular  courses 
of  the  Technical  High;  and  of  the  latter  twenty-seven, 
nineteen  are  now  halfway  through  their  second  regular 
high  school  year.  Not  only  have  these  girls  continued 
their  work,  but  they  have  been  remarkably  successful, 
decidedly  more  successful  in  avoiding  failures"  than 
the  average  girl  who  is  admitted  in  the  usual  way. 

From  the  enumerations  of  the  "reasons  why  the 
special  course  was  successful"  (p.  12),  Miss  Laselle 

[iv] 


has  modestly  omitted  one  reason,  undoubtedly  the  most 
important  of  all, —  that  is,  the  teacher  who  taught  the 
girls  their  academic  subjects,  whose  room  was  the  girls' 
"home"  room,  who  was  responsible  not  for  the  main- 
tenance of  any  fixed  school  standards  but  for  the  best 
possible  education  of  every  one  of  that  particular  group 
of  girls  for  one  year.  Her  guiding  thought  and  aim 
was  to  give  these  girls  something  to  learn  that  they 
could  learn,  something  that  would  be  of  the  greatest 
practical  value  to  them,  to  encourage  them  to  do  what 
they  could  do,  and  thus  to  substitute  in  them  for  the 
habit  of  failure,  to  which  they  had  long  been  ac- 
customed, the  habit  of  success. 

What  would  have  been  the  school  career  of  this  group 
of  fifty  girls  who  were  transferred  to  high  school  in 
September,  1910,  had  they  been  compelled  to  complete 
grammar  school  work  before  admission  to  high  school, 
can  only  be  conjectured.  Anyone  familiar  with  the 
records  of  girls  of  this  type  would  probably  consider  it 
a  fair  estimate  that  scarcely  half  would  have  returned 
to  grammar  school;  that  not  more  than  half  of  those 
returning  would  have  completed  the  course;  that  not 
more  than  half  of  those  completing  the  course  —  per- 
haps a  half-dozen  —  would  ever  have  entered  the  high 
school;  and  that  not  more  than  two  or  three  of  these, 
more  probably  not  any,  would  have  gone  beyond  the 
first  year. 

The  financial  aspect  of  the  policy  pursued  with  these 
girls  is  interesting  and  important.  Since  September, 
1910.  wrhen  special  work  with  these  girls  began,  there 

[v] 


has  been  expended  on  their  education  probably  be- 
tween $4000  and  $5000  more  than  would  have  been 
expended  had  they  simply  been  left  to  the  usual  fate 
of  such  girls  as  estimated  above.  And  to  continue  the 
education  to  the  completion  of  some  high  school  course 
of  the  goodly  number  of  that  group  of  nineteen  now  in 
their  sophomore  year  who  will  probably  remain  to  grad- 
uate, will  cost  at  least  $2000  more.  We  might  have 
economized  and  saved  money  by  shutting  our  eyes  to 
the  needs  of  these  girls;  instead,  we  practiced  a  higher 
economy  by  saving  and  developing  human  talent,  that 
will  surely  pay  not  only  to  these  girls  but  to  society 
large  dividends  for  many  years  on  the  money  invested. 

The  work  with  classes  of  girls  that  have  been  'trans- 
ferred" to  High  School  since  September,  1910,  prom- 
ises to  be  just  as  successful  as  the  wrork  with  that  first 
class,  chosen  for  presentation  here  simply  because  more 
of  the  results  extending  over  a  larger  period  are  becom- 
ing apparent. 

Work  with  transfer"  boys  in  the  high  school  has 
proved  no  less  successful  than  that  with  girls.  This 
work  and  its  results  will  be  described  in  a  pamphlet 
similar  to  this. 

FRANK   E.   SPAULDING, 

Superintendent  of  Newton  Schools 
NEWTONVILLE,  MASS., 
January  20,  1913. 


A   NOVEL   EXPERIMENT 


WHAT    THE    PROBLEM    WAS 

HEN  it  was  found  some  years  ago 
that  in  the  Newton  schools,  as  in 
the  schools  of  many  other  cities, 
there  were  in  the  eighth  year  of  the 
grammar  grades  a  rather  large  num- 
ber of  girls  over  fifteen  years  of  age 
for  whom  there  was  little  hope  of  promotion  to  the 
High  School  by  the  ordinary  methods  of  school 
grading,  a  special  class  for  these  girls  was  organized  in 
the  Newton  Technical  High  School.  It  was  the 
Superintendent's  belief  that  to  the  many  and  varied 
appeals  to  the  mentality  that  would  be  made  in  tin- 
special  courses  in  that  school  there  would  be  an  intel- 
lectual response  that  would  cause  these  girls  to  become 
eventually  efficient  wage-earners  instead  of  the  un- 
skilled workers  that  they  gave  promise  of  becoming  if 
they  left  school  in  a  somewhat  discouraged  condition 
at  the  end  of  the  eighth  grade. 

[i  1 


The  total  number  of  these  girls  from  all  of  the 
grammar  schools  was  fifty,  and  their  average  age  in 
September,  1910,  was  fifteen  years  and  eight  months. 
There  were  fourteen  pupils  over  sixteen  years  of  age. 

CAUSES  OF  RETARDATION 

Thirty-five  out  of  fifty  pupils  had  repeated  a  grade. 
The  causes  of  retardation,  as  given  upon  the  personal 
record  cards  which  are  sent  on  with  the  pupil  from 
grade  to  grade,  and  which  contain  a  valuable  fund  of 
information  in  regard  to  each  one,  were  (l)  sickness 
by  which  a  grade  was  lost  ;  (2)  entering  school  late — 
four  did  not  enter  until  eight  years  of  age  ;  (3)  unfor- 
tunate home  conditions  making  home  study  impossi- 
ble ;  (4)  slow  mental  development. 

ATTITUDE  OF  GIRLS  TOWARDS  SCHOOL  WORK 

The  mental  attitude  of  the  most  of  the  girls  towards 
school  work  might  be  described  by  the  words  ''apa- 
thetic," stolid/'  slow,"  '  sluggish,"  and  in  a  few 
cases,  befogged."  We  will  quote  here  from  some  of 
the  personal  records,  which  are  in  many  cases  most 
interesting  and  sometimes  pathetic  human  documents. 
Of  one  pupil  the  record  is  this:  Grade  V. —  ''This  pupil 
is  energetic,  faithful,  and  has  a  good  mind.  She  was 
out  of  school  during  the  last  months  of  the  year  because 
of  sickness."  Grade  VI. —  This  girl  was  not  prepared 
for  the  work  of  the  grade  and  was  not  promoted.  She 
seems  dull  and  listless,  and  shows  little  interest  in  her 
work.  Poor  in  arithmetic.  Little  mental  ability." 


Grade  VII. —  "The  pupil  is  a  faithful  worker  hut  can- 
not understand  her  work  in  arithmetic.  Sent  to  the 
eighth  grade  on  trial."  Grade  VIII. —  '  Transferred 
to  special  class  in  Technical  High  School." 

This  seems  a  clear  story  of  a  normal,  healthy  mental 
growth  up  to  the  end  of  the  Fifth  grade  when  a  few 
months  of  sickness  so  retarded  the  pupil  that  her  work 
in  the  grammar  school  after  that  date  was  unsatis- 
factory. Possibly  it  would  be  well  at  this  point,  to 
finish  the  record  of  this  girl  up  to  date  by  saying  that 
after  doing  good  work  in  the  special  class,  she  is  now 
in  the  Clerical  Department  where  she  has  not  failed 
in  any  study  thus  far  this  year. 

Another  girl's  record  reads  as  follows:  Grade  VI. — 
Little  power  of  concentration,  will  not  study  except- 
ing under  compulsion;  promoted  to  Grade  VII  on 
trial."  Grade  VII.— •' Pupil  must  repeat  the  grade, 
not  interested  in  studies;  good  in  drawing  and  hand 
work;  attendance  poor;  no  help  from  the  home." 
Grade  VIII. —  Poor  work.  On  account  of  age  trans- 
ferred to  special  class  at  High  School." 

As  might  be  expected  from  this  record  this  pupil 
was  aroused  and  reached  through  her  work  in  design, 
sewing,  and  cooking.  She  is  now  a  pupil  in  the  Extra 
Technical  Course,  where  she  is  doing  second  year  work 
in  household  economics,  and  is  said  by  her  teacher  to 
be  one  of  the  most  expert  needle  women  in  the  course. 
She  now  plans  to  become  a  teacher  of  sewing. 

The  two  cards  above  quoted  are  typical  of  a  great 
number  of  records  in  which  sickness  or  lack  of  interest 


in   studies   are   given    as   the   causes   of  failure   to  do 
satisfactory  work  in  the  grammar  grades. 

PHYSICAL    AND    MENTAL    CONDITION    OF   GIRLS 
AS   THEY    ENTERED   THE    HIGH    SCHOOL 

The  physical  condition  of  the  girls  as  they  entered 
the  High  School  was  fairly  satisfactory.  Only  three 
out  of  the  fifty  were  found  in  a  condition  that  would 
necessitate  their  being  excused  from  gymnasium  work. 
There  was,  however,  a  lack  of  robustness,  of  power  of 
resistance,  which  made  many  of  the  girls  fall  easy 
victims  to  colds,  headaches,  and  other  minor  ailments, 
and  this  condition,  of  course,  meant  many  days  of 
absence  from  school. 

The  mental  attitude  of  the  girls  toward  the  new 
work  seemed  one  of  vague  hope  mingled  with  some 
definite  fear. 

ATTITUDE   OF    HIGH    SCHOOL    TEACHERS 
AND   PUPILS  TOWARDS   SPECIAL  CLASS 

The  special  class  was  received  with  the  greatest 
kindness  by  every  one  connected  with  the  High 
School.  The  class  was  given  all  the  privileges  of  the 
other  pupils  and  in  every  way  the  girls  were  encour- 
aged to  feel  themselves  an  integral  part  of  the  student 
body. 

SPECIAL   COURSE    PLANNED    FOR    CLASS 

In  planning  the  special  course  for  the  girls  many 
avenues  of  approach  to  their  mentality  was  open  for 


them.  They  were  given  ten  periods  of  academic  work — 
commercial  geography,  hygiene,  household  accounts, 
and  English;  ten  of  household  economics;  four  of  design; 
and  one  of  physical  culture.  The  physical  conditions 
under  which  they  worked  were  of  the  very  best.  They 
were  given  a  large,  sunny  home"  room,  a  cooking  and 
a  sewing  laboratory  that  were  supplied  with  every  ar- 
ticle of  equipment  that  could  possibly  be  required,  and 
a  large  well-lighted  room  for  work  in  design. 

SEGREGATION  AN  IMPORTANT  ELEMENT 
IN  SUCCESS  OF  CLASS 

The  segregation  of  the  class  was  an  important  ele- 
ment in  the  success  of  the  undertaking.  Many  of 
the  pupils  were  of  the  self-effacing,  retiring  type  of 
pupil,  who,  in  a  mixed  class,  or  in  a  class  in  which  are 
rapid  workers,  is  almost  inevitably  thrust  into  the 
background,  where  she  persists  in  remaining  despite 
the  earnest  endeavors  of  her  teachers.  With  no  large 
element  of  rapid  or  more  accurate  workers  to  make 
them  timid,  the  girls  developed  a  self  confidence,  and 
an  ability  to  take  a  leading  part  in  discussions  in 
English  and  in  other  subjects  that  was  very  satisfac- 
tory, and  that  has  enabled  them  this  year  to  perform 
work  required  in  the  regular  mixed  classes  of  the  Hio-h 
School  in  a  creditable  manner. 

METHODS  OF  AROUSING  GIRLS  TO  EFFORTS 

From  the  very  first  the  attempt  was  made  to  cause 
the  girls  to  realize  the  splendid  advantages  given  them 
[5] 


iii  their  new  environment,  and  the  appeal  was  made  to 
them  that  fair  play  and  a  sense  of  justice  demanded 
strenuous  effort  on  their  part  to  show  their  appreciation. 
Suggestions  of  success  in  vocations  were  used  as  a 
powerful  incentive  to  effort,  and  the  attempt  was  made 
to  give  each  girl  a  hopeful  outlook  upon  life.  In  the 
belief  that  nothing  will  clear  a 'befogged  mind  or 
quicken  sluggish  mental  processes  so  well  as  a  strong 
desire  to  better  one's  condition,  an  effort  was  made  to 
arouse  the  imagination  of  each  pupil  until  she  saw 
herself  working  successfully  in  some  honorable  voca- 
tion. Success  in  any  part  of  the  daily  school  work 
was  commended  in  the  effort  to  establish  the  'success 
habit." 

STUDY    OF   VOCATIONS 

A  brief  study  of  some  of  the  more  common  vocations 
for  girls  was  made,  and  some  most  interesting  talks 
were  given  the  class  by  the  head  nurse  of  the  city 
hospital,  a  woman  physician  of  Newton,  the  director 
of  the  Boston  School  of  Salesmanship,  the  head  librarian 
of  the  Newton  Public  Library,  a  member  of  the.  School 
Board,  the  Superintendent  of  Schools  and  other  persons 
competent  to  speak  upon  special  subjects. 

These  talks  were  all  intended  to  stimulate  thought 
along  vocational  lines.      Some  of  the  subjects  were: 
What   Qualities  are   Necessary  to  Success  in   Any 

Vocation  :" 

"What  Should  Determine  One's  Choice  of  a   Voca- 
tion ?" 

L*3 


Healthful  and  Unhealthful  Vocations.'9 
"A  Mother's  Helper/* 

The  Kind  of  Girl  Who  would  make  a  Good  Nurse." 
'Florence  Nightingale:  The  Ideal  Nurse." 
"The  Life  of  a  Sales  Girl." 

Work  in  a  Well-Managed  Manufacturing  Establish- 
ment.*' 

"  What    Positions    are    Open    to  a    Skillful    Needle- 
woman ?" 

"Books  that  Every  Girl  Should  Know." 
"The  Efficient  Girl." 

MIND  AROUSED  TO  ACTION  BY  STUDY  OF  VOCATIONS, 
THEN  EDUCATIONAL  NEEDS  PRESSED  HOME 

In  the  study  of  vocations  the  aim  was  to  place  the 
vocation  as  a  shining  mark  towards  which  to  aim,  but 
the  fact  was  everywhere  and  at  all  times  emphasized 
that  to  fill  any  vocation  with  credit  one  should  possess 
a  fund  of  mental  resources  in  excess  of  those  required 
in  the  actual  wrork  of  earning  a  living  and  that  one 
always  needs  a  liberal  supply  of  what  is  commonly 
called  good  sense  and  good  judgment,  in  order  to 
accomplish  any  worthy  undertaking  successfully. 

The  necessity  of  an  educational  equipment  for  work 
in  any  vocation  was  pressed  home  in  many  different 
wrays;  as  was  also  the  need  of  having  a  reserve  supply 
of  mental  and  moral  force.  If  the  talk  was  on  nursing 
it  was  easy  to  see  that  the  nurse  must  be  well-trained, 
and  it  was  also  easy  to  imagine  that  she  would  be  a 
dull  companion  for  her  patient  if  she  knew  nothing  of 
[7] 


literature,  biography,  and  history,  or  took  no  interest 
in  important  current  events. 

If  the  talk  was  of  the  work  of  a  salesgirl,  it  was  not 
hard  to  prove  that  the  ability  to  enjoy  a  good  book 
would  enable  a  tired  girl  to  spend  her  evenings 
happily,  profitably,  and  economically. 

As  has  been  suggested  the  sluggish  mental  forces 
were  first  aroused  by  the  study  of  possible  vocations 
and  as  is  always  true,  the  mental  and  moral  fibre  of 
the  pupils  strained  to  its  utmost  under  the  stress  of  a 
compelling  purpose. 

VOCATIONAL  TALKS  MADE  BASIS  OF  WORK  IN  ENGLISH 

The  girls  wrote  reports  of  each  one  of  these  talks 
upon  vocations  both  as  an  exercise  in  English  and  also 
for  the  purpose  of  impressing  upon  their  minds  the 
facts  given  in  regard  to  the  vocations. 

HOME  CONDITIONS  STUDIED 

As  far  as  possible  the  home  conditions  of  the  pupils 
were  studied,  and  calls  were  made  at  a  large  number 
of  homes  during  the  year.  In  this  manner  much  valu- 
able information  was  obtained  which  could  be  used  in 
advising  the  pupil  as  to  her  course  in  school  and  her 
preparation  for  later  work. 

APPEAL  THROUGH  LITERATURE 

During  the  year  each  pupil  memori/ed  and  recited 
ten  choice  poems.  About  fifty  carefully  selected  books 
from  the  Public  Library  were  kept  in  the  schoolroom 
and  fifty  small  volumes  of  English  Classics  were  bought 


by  the  class  as  a  nucleus  of  a  permanent  schoolroom 
library.  Every  Friday  a  report  was  made  upon  the 
reading  that  the  pupil  had  done  through  the  week. 
After  an  hour  spent  in  reading  some  delightful  book 
the  pupils  realized  something  of  the  value  of  literature 
as  a  means  of  recreation,  and  in  giving  more  color, 
action,  and  a  broader  human  canvas  to  the  reader. 
They  were  made  in  some  degree  to  realize  that  litera- 
ture is  a  "talisman  and  spell ??  that  will  entertain, 
comfort,  broaden,  and  uplift  the  one  who  loves  it. 

WORK  IN  ARITHMETIC,  HYGIENE,  AND  COMMERCIAL 
GEOGRAPHY 

In  arithmetic  all  work  was  eliminated,  excepting 
practical  problems  in  housekeeping,  sewing,  millinery, 
and  expense  accounts.  The  work  in  hygiene  was  made 
very  practical  and  helped  several  girls  to  rid  themselves 
of  tendencies  to  spinal  curvatures  and  of  bad  habits  of 
living.  The  improvement  in  the  physique  of  the  girls 
at  the  close  of  the  year  was  a  matter  of  comment. 

In  commercial  geography  a  talk  illustrated  by  the 
reflectoscope  summed  up  the  lessons  of  each  week,  and 
the  gift  of  a  large  number  of  minerals  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institute  and  other  specimens  from  several 
manufacturing  plants  made  it  possible  to  present  the 
lessons  in  a  concrete  manner. 

WORK  IN  COOKING,  SEWING,  AND  DESIGN 

In  cooking  each  girl  learned  to  make  over  seventy 
different  articles  of  food,  the  most  of  which  were 

[*] 


thoroughly  tested  in  the  school  lunch  room;  besides 
this,  each  girl  learned  valuable  lessons  in  neatness 
and  care  of  equipment.  In  sewing,  a  complete  set  of 
underclothes  was  made,  besides  a  cooking  uniform, 
and  some  of  the  girls  made  dresses.  In  design,  much 
valuable  information  was  received  in  regard  to  harmony 
of  line  and  color;  hats,  many  articles  for  household 
use,  and  a  few  dresses  were  designed;  the  dresses  were 
afterwards  made  in  the  sewing  department. 


WHERE  ARE  THE  GIRLS  NOW? 

Of  the  fifty  girls  in  the  class  at  the  beginning  of  the 
school  year  (September,  1910),  forty-five  remained 
until  the  end  of  the  year.  Of  these  forty-five,  twenty- 
seven  entered  regular  courses  of  the  Technical  High 
School  in  September,  1911,  sixteen  the  Clerical,  one 
the  Fine  Arts,  and  ten  the  Extra-Technical  courses; 
two  entered  the  Newton  Classical  High  School,  one  a 
boarding  school;  two  returned  to  the  Special  Transfer 
Class  for  a  second  year's  work,  which  was  so  successful 
that  both  entered  regular  courses  in  September,  191^?: 
four  went  to  work  in  the  Martin  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, where  they  had  been  employed  afternoons  during 
the  school  year  (1910-1911);  two  went  to  work  in  fac- 
tories; two  became  clerks  in  stores;  one  of  the  most 
promising  was  obliged  to  leave  school  to  become  a 
nursemaid;  two  remained  at  home  and  two  removed 
from  the  city. 

Of  the   five   girls   who   left   school   during  the  year. 

[  10  ] 


three  of  them  became  wage  earners  at  once,  as  home 
conditions  made  this  necessary. 

In  September,  1912,  nineteen  of  these  girls  entered 
the  regular  second  year  class  of  the  High  School. 

An  effort  is  made  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  girls 
who  were  obliged  to  leave  school  at  the  end  of  the 
Freshman  Year  and  to  make  them  feel  that  the  school 
is  interested  in  their  success  in  whatever  work  they 
have  taken  up.  In  reply  to  letters  sent  out  to  these 
girls'  information  as  to  their  employment  and  their 
reasons  for  leaving  school  have  been  frankly  given.  In 
nearly  every  case  home  conditions  made  it  necessary 
for  the  girl  to  become  self  supporting  at  once. 

THE   STANDING   OF   THESE    PUPILS   IN  THE  REGULAR 
COURSES  OF  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL 

A  careful  study  has  been  made  of  the  standing  of  all 
the  girls  who  entered  the  regular  high  school  courses  in 
September,  1911.  It  has  been  found  from  the  rating- 
sheets  that  the  number  of  those  failing  to  do  satisfactory 
work  has  been  small.  For  the  first  twenty  weeks  of  their 
work  in  the  regular  high  school  courses  no  pupil  failed 
to  secure  a  satisfactory  general  average  and  only  two 
pupils  failed  in  any  subject  for  the  entire  twenty  weeks. 

In  the  endeavor  to  compare  the  work  of  these  pupils 
in  their  Freshman  year  with  the  work  of  the  other 
Freshman  pupils,  this  question  was  asked  of  the  three 
teachers  of  Freshman  English; —  How^  does  the  work 
in  English  of  the  special-transfer  girls  compare  with 
that  of  the  other  Freshmen?'' 

in  1 


Teacher  No.  1.— "Their  work  is  as  good  as  that  of 
the  other  pupils,  and,  in  special  cases,  it  is  better. " 

Teacher  No.  2. —  Their  work  is  as  good  as  any  and 
in  some  cases  better." 

Teacher  No.  3. —  The  average  is  as  good  as  the 
average  of  the  class." 

For  the  first  ten  weeks  of  their  Sophomore  year  no 
girl  of  the  group  failed  to  secure  a  satisfactory  average 
in  her  class.  No  one  would  be  rated  as  a  brilliant 
student,  but  no  one  could  be  classed  as  a  failure,  and 
the  amount  of  individual  achievement  in  the  different 
courses  was  considerable. 

REASONS  WHY  THE  SPECIAL  COURSE  WAS  SUCCESSFUL 

1.  The    new    environment    aroused    in    the   pupils 
the  feeling  that  they  must  do  their  best  to  be  worthy 
of  a  place  in  the  High  School. 

2.  The  work  was  in  a  most  stimulating  atmosphere. 
There  were  large  numbers  and  many  activities.      There 
was  a  many-sided  development. 

3.  Every  girl  could  do  well  some  one  of  the  many 
kinds  of  work  in  which  she  was  engaged.      This  gave 
each  pupil  a  sense  of  power  that  helped  her  in  all  her 
work . 

4.  In  the  academic  studies  attention   was  concen- 
trated on  a  few  vital  points.      The  slow- working  mind 
was  not  confused  by  non-essentials,  nor  was  the  pupil 
laboring   under  the  discouragement   of  working    with 
more  rapid  students. 

5.  The  vocational  outlook  upon  life  caused  a  stream 

I  12] 


of  pleasurable  emotion  to  flow  through  the  conscious- 
ness. This  aroused  strong  desire  and  determination, 
(i.  As  far  as  possible  each  girl  was  made  to  see  the 
relation  of  every  piece  of  work  accomplished  to  some- 
personal  or  social  end. 

7.  The  idea  of  preparation  for  the  actual,  successful 
work  of  life  was  constantly  emphasized. 

8.  The    course    was   adapted    to    meet   tbe   peculiar 
needs  of  the  pupils. 


A  LOOK  BACKWARD  AND  FORWARD 

For  too  many  years  have  thousands  of  boys  and  girls 
looked  wistfully  over  the  barriers  within  which  the 
high  schools  have  intrenched  themselves,  before  these 
pupils  have  turned  away  to  go  stumblingly  and  halt- 
ingly out  from  the  grammar  schools  to  find  some  work 
in  life.  They  have  not  realized  that  there  was  any 
injustice  in  the  fact  that  none  of  the  work  of  the  high 
school  was  vocational  or  connected  in  any  vital  way 
with  what  must  be  their  real  work  in  life;  but  some- 
times in  talking  of  a  wished  for  high  school  course, 
there  was  in  their  eyes  a  puzzled  look  that  troubled 
their  teachers,  who  knew  that  many  pupils  who  had 
struggled  through  the  grammar  grades  could  ill-afford 
to  spend  four  years  in  securing  the  academic  culture, 
wrhich  was  the  only  thing  that  the  high  school  offered 
them. 

At  last,  however,  a  better  time  is  coming  when  the 
word  *  High"  in  High  School  will  stand  not  alone  for 
[13] 


certain  work  in  the*  classics,  sciences,  and  mathematics, 
but  it  will  also  stand  for  high  achievement  in  many 
other  lines  of  effort  that  lead  to  the  strengthening  of 
character,  the  brightening  of  intellect,  the  developing 

of  skill  in  preparing  for  one's  work  in  life. 

In  this  better  time,  the  High"  School  will  con- 
sider as  its  'highest"  work  for  society  the  conserva- 
tion of  all  of  the  boys  and  girls  to  whom  it  can  be  of 
service. 


LI*: 


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JAN    4  1946 


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